Betrothed
by TeamEdwardAllTheWayXD
Summary: Bella Swan comes from a rich family, and has been engaged to Edward Cullen since birth. Finding out on her 21st birthday, she refuses to marry him, especially since recently meeting the love of her life. But does she really know who that love is?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I hope everyone is having a good Christmas. I know I am! Anyway, if anyone read my other story I wrote in the summer, 'Player or Bella??' I decided to give up on it. It never really got started, and I ran out of ideas. Anyway, I like this idea, so am trying it out. This first chapter's really short, but if it works, the next chapter will be a lot longer. Enjoy!**

BPOV

"Happy Birthday, Bella!" said my mom, pulling me into a bear hug.

"Mom, please. You know I don't like celebrating my birthday." I said, manoeuvring myself out of my mother's embrace.

"Oh, fine. I just thought that because you turn twenty-one this year, you might be a bit more excited to celebrate your birthday. I mean, you can finally drink!" I snorted, but nodded. Little did my mom know, but I've been drinking every Saturday night since I was sixteen.

"Sure, Mom," I said, humouring her. "So, where are dad and Alice??" Alice was my unidentical twin sister, and we'd been inseparable all the way up to senior year in High School. Then we'd become interested in different things, meaning that we didn't go the same university, as we'd always planned. I missed her loads, though, and had spent weeks looking forward to seeing her again.

"They're through the back, dear." Said my Mom, and I quickly kissed her cheek, dropped my bag, and ran through our massive house to the back room. I hadn't even entered the room before-

"BELLA!!!!" Screamed Alice, and she launched herself onto me.

"Bella, Bella, Bella! I missed you sooooo much!!!" She cried into my shoulder. I giggled.

"Alice I missed you too!" I laughed.

"Happy Birthday!" We both shouted, and then giggled again. Our twin telepathy was still intact, it appeared. It was then I noticed to very handsome blonde man, sat in the corner, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hey, Alice," I said. "When were you planning on introducing me to your friend?!" I teased, nodding in the man's direction.

"Ohh!" She gasped, and skipped to his side.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Jasper Whitlock. Jasper, this is my twin sister I never shut up about, Bella." I shot Alice a look, and shook the man's hand.

"Wow, so you attempt to make an honest woman out of my sister. Good luck!" I snickered. "Congratulations, you guys!" I said, and gave them both a hug.

"Oh, I love cake!" I exclaimed. My mom raised her perfectly sculptured eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't like celebrating your birthday." She challenged. I sat down and helped myself.

"I don't. But cake is good, and I might as well accept anything you're going to give me." I said, and shot her a sideways look.

She suddenly looked guilty, and I quickly covered for myself.

"But I mean if you didn't buy me anything because you didn't think I'd want it, I mean, that's fine-"

"Don't be stupid, of course we got you something!" She laughed. "Here." And she handed over a package.

"Charlie bought you something too, but he's playing golf at the moment, so he'll give it to you later, and I think Alice is showing Jasper around the town." But I wasn't listening.

"Mom! The new Macbook?! How did you know? The one you got me last year was getting a little out dated, but I wasn't going to ask." My mom laughed.

"Well you're welcome sweetie. I just thought we should soften you up 'cause we've, ugh, well, we've got some news." She admitted guiltily. Now I was interested.

"Oh yeah? What news?"

"Ah. Well, I should really wait for your father..."

"Mom. It's my birthday. Please tell me." I tried to convince her.

She sighed and walked over to a cupboard in the corner. She looked inside and found a folder labelled, 'Bella's First Year'. I furrowed my brow in confusion. I was turning twenty-one. What news could they possibly give me about something that happened two decades ago? Looking inside she pulled out two pieces of paper and handed them to me. One of them was my birth certificate. Born 13th September 1988. Well I already knew that. The other was what seemed to be a contract.

I looked up at my mother in disbelief.

"I'm ENGAGED??!!"

**Dun dun duunn! Ok, so like I said, I'll only carry on with this if it seems to work, which means I need honest reviews, or I'll get bored and give up. So please review!**

**xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, or added this to their alerts or favourites. This chapter's in Edward's POV mostly, and a little of Bella's at the end. I'm not too sure about it, but it's important to the story. Enjoy!**

EPOV

I had literally just finished moving in. Had five minutes ago finished setting up drawers and cupboards and shelves, and sat down with a cup of coffee when there was a knock at the door. Sighing, I stood up, and ambled over to the front door.

"Carlisle? Oh, thank God, I thought it'd be Tanya." I said, relieved, and giving my father a hug, ushered him inside.

"Yes, well I have some news that should be shared immediately. It is not fair for her to know and you not." Mumbled my father.

"Uh, ok then. Shoot." I said sitting back down with my coffee. Carlisle was the Chief of Medicine at a hospital in Washington, so if this news was bad, he should go about telling it in the right way.

"All right, here goes. When you were three years old, the family company, along with your grandfather, lost everything. Now this is no news to you, you saw your grandfather waste away and die throughout your childhood. Now, obviously because of my job, we are no longer as poor and broken a family as we were back then, but relatives of ours were never able to get back on their feet. Basically, when you were three, we made a deal with the Swans. You've heard of them, I suppose?" I nodded. Of course I had. They were the richest family in the United States of America. Kept to themselves a lot. Not celebrities at all, but everyone talks about them, all the same.

"Well, Charlie and Renee Swan had just given birth to two beautiful little baby girls, and your mother and I betrothed you to the youngest of the twins. Isabella-"

"Wait, you _betrothed _me?! What is this, the 19th century? People don't agree to marry their children off to rich families anymore! And besides that, how could expect me to marry someone so rich? She'll be a stuck-up whore, that much I can tell you now!" I practically screamed at my father. How dare he?! Betrothed? I can't be betrothed! I'm a successful business-man at only twenty-four, my life's just getting started! And now I'm forced to marry some rich bitch, to make some distant cousins happy?? No way.

"Son, I appreciate that this upsets you. I would not expect anything less. But the girl turned twenty-one today, and her parents told her this morning. I personally was prepared to ease you into the idea, but this left me no choice. I didn't find it fair that she knew and you didn't." He said, his face begging me to understand.

"Carlisle, I think it'd be best if you left." I sighed, showing my father the door.

"Edward, please. Her name is Isabella Swan, but she goes by Bella. Look her up or something. She supposed to be a lovely girl-" and I slammed the door in his face.

Ha, lovely girl. That means she's ugly. Or worse, caked in makeup, expensive clothes and plastic surgery. I couldn't believe my parents had done this to me. Just then the phone rang.

"Hello, this is Edward Cullen."

"Uhh, hi. My name's, umm, Izzie. Izzie Crow?" Was it me, or did she sound unsure of her own name?

"Well, hi. How can I help you?"

"I heard you were looking for a secretary?"

"That's right. Are you interested?"

"Well yes, actually. I, uhh, thought maybe I could come and meet you?" Every bloody thing she says sounds like a question!

"Of course." And I gave her the address.

"Thank you Ms Crow. You might just be my life-saver!"

"Who? Oh! Me! Right, well, bye." And she hung up. I stared at the phone for a minute or two. That was possibly the weirdest phone call ever. Doesn't matter though, because I'm getting married. Great.

BPOV

Ok, well that went well. I think I managed to convince him that I was called Izzie Crow. Or not. As soon as I found out that I was engaged, I had ran out of the house. My mother screamed after me that this meant she was no longer paying for my university fees, but I didn't care. I went straight to my friend Rosalie's house and begged her to let me stay there. She agreed, because her and her boyfriend Royce had recently broken up, and she'd been looking for a room-mate anyway. That's where I'd been all day, recounting the story to Rose, and trying to figure out what to do with my life. I decided to become a secretary. How hard could it be, right? Answering phones, and all that jazz. I found an advert in the paper and called an Edward Cullen, disguising my name, because knowing my parents, they'll already be scouring the city looking for me.


End file.
